


Rifts

by makingconstellations



Category: Captain America, Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man - All Media Types, Iron Man - Fandom, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Civil War (Marvel), Gen, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-29 11:40:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6373312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makingconstellations/pseuds/makingconstellations
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all started with a birthday party. Tony's, to be exact.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rifts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [daydreamingstoryteller](https://archiveofourown.org/users/daydreamingstoryteller/gifts).



It wasn’t every day that Steve stopped by the Avengers Tower. It was too big, too gaudy, too much for the simple soldier that he is. All he had seventy odd years ago were the army barracks, temporary tents put up near the enemy frontlines. Canvas on sticks, simple accommodations and more than he could have asked for in a war. They can barely be called architecture, especially not compared to the titan of the building that is the Avengers Tower. Originally Stark’s newest addition to his collection of properties, it was the first building to be completely powered by the Arc Reactor. After the battle of New York, it was quickly remodelled to have the Avengers’ logo adorning the top of the tower, replacing that of Stark Industries. Steve was grateful to Tony for providing the Avengers a place to call headquarters, but he felt uneasy every time he stepped into the huge high-rise complex. That was one of the main reasons why he rejected Tony’s offer to reside at the Tower. Even though it was well over two years that he woke up from the ice, he still could not get use to the tall buildings looming over central New York, blocking the view of the sky. Today was a special day. It was only a couple of months after the Sokovia incident and it is going to be the first time that the Avengers are going to congregate after they parted ways. Tony called a day ago, inviting him to his impromptu birthday party. Or so he says. Steve reads the news every day, an old habit of his, and found nothing about a birthday bash for the top billionaire in the states. Quickly whipping up the internet, he was particularly perturbed when he saw that Tony’s birthday was not due for quite a few months. His instincts told him that something was off and his instincts are usually right. Knowing that the government is keeping close tabs on his activities, any call to his phone was probably tapped. Tony could have easily called him on the special communication device he gave to the Avengers but he chose not to. Maybe he may have read too much into it but something told him that this meeting will not be a simple catch up session.

“Loft, please.” Tony’s new AI registered Steve’s voice signature and the elevator doors shot up to the highest floor. It was eerily quiet without Jarvis’ usual salutations. Steve thought that Tony would have rigged up a new AI by now. The doors slid open as he arrived at the highest level, pleasantly surprised by old faces he never thought he had missed until now. The others had already arrived, which was unusual as Steve was normally the first to arrive at any occasion. Vision was hovering beside Wanda by the window overlooking Manhattan and they were silent, contemplative. Clint and Natasha sat at the bar, drinks in their hands. Rhodes was conversing with Sam and Steve captures bits of conversation, registering some of the military terms they threw around. Steve looked around for Tony and found him sitting somberly in front of a holographic screen showing a news report. Walking towards Tony, the latter barely registered his presence as he sat beside him. Narrowing his eyes, Steve recognised several political figures at a United Nations summit. It did not take long for him to realise that it was a summit to discuss security concerns, and they were addressing the Sokovia incident. The summit ended, inconclusive as the leaders left with a grim expression on their faces.

With a flick of his hand, the holographic screen disappeared on Tony’s command. He stood up and the rest turned to face him. Steve noticed a frown forming on his friend’s face as he addressed everyone. “You know why I have gathered all of you here today. We had two major battles in the span of two years. We leveled a whole city. We won. But there’s winning and there’s _winning_ and sometimes winning doesn’t feel like winning. It feels like almost losing. Look at Sokovia. We were at war. And war has casualties. I need to tell you guys something.” Tony paused, looking pointedly at Wanda. “Wanda showed me something when she did her mojo. Piles and piles of lifeless body. You guys at the center of it. Total annihilation. There was…”

“Tony, you know that was just an illusion right? Neuro-electric interphase, it’s not..” Wanda interrupted, flustered. Tony raised his hand to stop her. “I know. Our own demons. You used it against us. But what if you were right? I have been having these nightmares. It’s been happening for a while, I haven’t said anything. ‘What’ and ‘if’ are two innocent words but they come together to become something terrifying. I keep thinking - what if I could have done more? I created Ultron out of that fear, I created Vision out of the same fear. Self-fulfilling prophecy, all of it. But now I can’t help but think if I was wrong. I know, I am rarely wrong. But what if I am? What if I could have done more by doing less? What if we did less? If all of us quits… this... this thing we have going on right now… if all of us quits the Avengers, we can stop what happened in my head from happening in real life. The world doesn’t need us, not right now. We don’t owe the world anything.”

Tony took in a huge breath and quietened. His next sentence could barely be heard. “What if we all go back to our own lives?”

“Some of us have nothing to go back to, Tony.” Natasha said quietly, putting her drink down. “You could go back to your toys, Clint can go back to his family. How about Wanda, or Steve? Hell, I know people will freak if Vision suddenly started walking down the streets of Manhattan. And are we just going to ignore what the Avengers was actually set up for?”

“Natasha’s right. We all came together to fight something none of us could have fought alone. Now, two of our strongest hitters are nowhere to be found. Sometimes, I wonder what I am doing with you guys. I have a bow and arrow, Capt’s got an indestructible shield. Every time I go out into the field, there may be a chance I won’t return. But this is our job. If not us, then who?” Clint spoke, staring at the glass in his hand.

Tony replied, “The US military and UN’s Peacekeeping Operations have been approaching me for help over the past decade. It may be time I step in to improve their tech. I have plans that can increase security to the point where the Avengers can be rendered useless. Extra-terrestrial and internal threats will not be a problem, even if it is the scale of our previous two battles. Imagine, Ironman-suited soldiers. I can make that happen. On top of that, I have been making preparations to relief myself of anything Ironman-related and I can help all of you too. I have created a new synthetic cover which Vision can put on which will cloak his appearance and change it to that of a human’s. Infrared and sonar will not be able to pick him up among a crowd. I can help all of you through the transition process.”

Steve stood up from the sofa and went across the room to the bar. Pouring himself a glass of whisky, he downed it in one gulp as the conversation intensifies, everyone speaking over everyone else. He could see where Tony was coming from, but he spent a good part of his life fighting. The Avengers avenge, the X-men defend and the Fantastic Four explore. But they all fight. It may be true that they fight a war against evil, but Steve has been in enough wars to know that that is just a holier-than-thou attitude that they take on, that they are always the good guys and all they fight is bad guys. In a war, there are no good guys and there are no bad guys. They are just opposing forces inflicting damage and causing casualties. He fought a war to end all wars and it is a constant losing battle. Actions have consequences and the Avengers cannot go around unchecked. Governments around the world are beginning to raise their queries and it is time for them to answer for everything they did, good intentions or not.

“I agree with Tony. We cannot continue dealing out justice on our own.” Tony heaved a visible sigh of relief before Steve continued.

“But it is not time to disband the Avengers.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please pardon me if anyone seems OOC, this was my first attempt and I will appreciate any comments or advice! Credits to Bendis Maleev for his comic, "The Confession" which inspired a good part of Tony's speech and Steve's psyche. Do leave kudos down below if you enjoyed this, more chapters coming soon...


End file.
